legal motivation

Last year on the evening of my birthday, I sat huddled on a couch with several other adoptive moms, oohing and ahhing over referral photos, theirs and ours. We shared Indian food that night, and they gave me an Indian themed birthday cake. It was a very happy gathering.

A year later, God has given us what then seemed to be an impossible amount of money for adoption fees and travel costs.

This year on my birthday, we will be researching to find the best hotels and airline itineraries for our trip. We're really hoping to travel this month!

We really need you to pray. Four weeks ago, we were told that the adoption has been finalized. Estimated wait time from that point was said to be two to four weeks. You can see why we're getting anxious now! We've had no updates in nearly four weeks!

There's no way we can travel this month unless God changes the priorities of the people in charge of preparing needed documents. 

As far as we know, there are officials sitting in offices, choosing not to process our paperwork. We don't know whether to blame excessive work loads or lack of motivation. Either way, I know God can prompt these people to act on our behalf! Please pray for that to happen!

We need someone in the orphanage to complete the "adoption deed" and send it to us so we can send it to the embassy in Delhi. At that point, someone needs to choose to do the work of creating a passport for our daughter. She is legally ours, but we need the legal documents to prove it so we can go get her and bring her home!

Three other adoptive families who joined us in our celebrations last year are also waiting for permission to travel to India to bring their children home. Wouldn't it be amazing if some of us could travel together?!

Thank you for your prayers! Our little girl will be home soon!

nesting

She's got three tutus, an Auburn cheerleader outfit, dolls, books, a kitchen play set, and toys galore. The royal baby's nursery has got nothin' on our daughter's room.

Her closet and drawers are full of clothes ranging from sizes 4T to 8T. So many cute little things, hand-me-downs and gifts from friends. I wonder what size she'll wear? We'll have to take outfits in several sizes to India with us. Surely something will fit her for the journey home.

Finally, I'm allowing myself to touch and sort these things of hers. Family members had to do this for me before, because I wasn't ready. Before we knew the adoption was finalized, I couldn't handle it. Only now that I know she's ours am I ready to to really focus on preparations for her arrival.

So I've been spending a lot of time upstairs. I've strung colorful lights over her window and hung some pictures on the walls. I've got her closet mostly in order, and her dolls and stuffed animals on display. Her bed is made and her clothes are organized and put away.

I expedited our visa applications to the consulate yesterday, so hopefully we will be ready to travel when India calls to say our daughter has her passport!

Now we are discussing travel plans, where to stay, who to hire, what to do with our dogs while we're away. So much to think about!

We are so thankful and so, so, so excited!

wishing, hoping, thinking, praying

No news on our adoption.
So we're just wishing, hoping, thinking and praying.
We're wishing the judges were hearing adoption cases this month.
We're hoping to travel to India soon after the New Year.
We're thinking about the way our daughter will change our lives.
We're praying that she is safe and happy while we all wait.

I recently read that in times of uncertainty and anxiety, it's helpful to remember these three words: "It's already written."

God already knows everything about the adoption. He knows all about our daughter. He knows when we will travel and how well she will adjust. God knows. He knows the Indian judges, attorneys and social workers involved in our case. He knows where our daughter is sleeping, what she is eating and who she she spends time with every day.

This certainty of God's sovereignty relieves a huge burden from my heart.
He is with us all. He is her Father and ours, and He will care us all while we wait.

We trust that God's timing is perfect. After all, we have just moved into a new house, we are both looking for new jobs, and my husband will soon start school. Our daughter will come home when she's ready and we're ready, and only God knows when that will be.

Please pray with us!
Merry Christmas!

Community of Hope

***This is an article I wrote for the newsletter of Jeeah's Hope, a local adoption and foster care ministry which has been a tremendous help for us along the way. The article is sort of a summary of our adoption journey so far. We're almost there!***

International adoption has been a dream of ours for many years. For me, the call began when I was in college, babysitting a little girl adopted from China. I used to stare at her, silently praising God for rescuing her from the streets and bringing her into the safety of her loving home. Since that time, when I dreamed about my future family, I prayed that God would give me adopted children, even if that meant not having biological children.

After only two years of marriage, we felt ready to adopt, but we weren’t sure where to start. Thankfully, God led us to a church community where adoption is celebrated. Some friends at church had already adopted two precious children from India, and God had provided most of their adoption expenses, so we started asking questions. We knew we couldn’t fund an adoption ourselves, but surely God would provide for us as He had for them. We just had to take a leap of faith.

Our first home study visit with Lifeline was in October 2011. As we explored our options, it became clear that an adoption from India would be the best fit for our family. We signed on with Island Coast International Adoptions, and received a referral in December.

We didn’t know what to do with the referral! Here was this file and photograph of a beautiful, four-year-old girl. We had a choice. Did we want her? Of course we did! Did we have faith that God would provide the means to bring her home? Sort of. We needed some encouragement.

We found the encouragement we needed through fellowship with other adoptive and foster care families within the Jeeah’s Hope community. Many of these families have already adopted one or more children. They all have unique stories. They have completed the piles of paperwork. They have waited, with their hearts in their throats, to hear news of their adoptive children. They have been through the disappointments. They weren’t surprised or discouraged by delays in the process. They understood the significance of each step of the process, and wanted to celebrate with us. Jeeah’s Hope has been a safe place for us throughout this adoption process.

When we heard that Jeeah’s Hope could offer financial assistance through matching grants or no-interest loans, we had little faith that we could match $4,000, so we considered applying for the loan. Thankfully, we were urged to apply for the matching grant instead, so we did. We strove to raise the funds we needed. We shamelessly asked friends and family for donations, and we participated in fundraisers galore. But you know what? It turns out we were right about not being able to match that $4,000 grant on our own strength. Only God could do it, and He did. The funds came in through unbelievable, amazing, and humbling channels. Our faith has grown so much through this process, and our passion for adoption is stronger than ever.

God has shown us, through providing the support we needed to adopt our daughter, that adoption really is His perfect plan for our lives. "Anna" really is our daughter, and He will do everything to bring her home into His family.

Adoption is a picture of God’s love for us. We fully believe that God has allowed us to go through this process in order to give us a glimpse of His never failing love for us. He really did seek us when we were strangers. He really will love us no matter what. As believers in Him, we really are forgiven our sins and made perfect in His sight. When God looks at us, He sees our brokenness and loves us anyway. Without Him, we would all be orphans.

Praise be to God, who promises:

“Do not fear, for I am with you;
    I will bring your offspring from the east,
    and from the west I will gather you.
⁶ I will say to the north, Give up,
    and to the south, Do not withhold;
bring my sons from afar
    and my daughters from the end of the earth, everyone who is called by my name,
    whom I created for my glory,
    whom I formed and made.”

Isaiah 43:5-7

No Objection!

These are photos of our daughter's room. My sister helped me finish some projects last week, just in time, because...

My husband came home early from his deployment to Kuwait! Yay! He was allowed to come home early because his active duty Army contract will be finished in February, and it will take a few months for the military to out-process him.  So, it looks like our prayers have been answered and he will be able to travel with me to India when it comes time to adopt our daughter!

We received our No Objection Certificate (NOC) from India last week, which means the Indian government has deemed us eligible to apply for adoption in their country. Whoohoo! We’ve been waiting and waiting for this! Now, our case will go to court, and we think there will be three court dates. Our legal representatives in India will handle the first two court dates for us, but since the last court date is to grant us custody of our daughter, we will need to be there ourselves! 

We should have an estimated travel date soon!

Two of the other families adopting from India are in the same stage of the process, so it looks like we may all be able to travel together. That would be such a blessing for all of us! The children could support each other through the trauma of being taken from the orphanage to live with strangers in an unfamiliar place. We would get to see them all interacting together, speaking their native language! Can you imagine? And we could celebrate our children's “gotcha days” together for years to come!

Our adoption agent says there’s only a slim chance that we will be able to bring our daughter home before December 31^st, which is disappointing, but it will still be soon! Maybe in January? And we can still pray that we will have our daughter home in time for Christmas! All things are possible, right? There is always hope. 

 

It’s been a year now since our first home study visit. Our daughter has been growing in our hearts for more than a year. This is what we estimated…14-15 months to complete the whole process. It’s longer than a pregnancy. I got paper cuts instead of stretch marks. And we're getting a kindergartener instead of an infant. Kindergarteners are my favorite!

This adoption is going to be a dream come true. 

p.s. One of the families in our India Adoption group was able to raise $30,000 in one week through the Both Hands/Homes for Heroes fundraiser! And they raised even more through other routes! Their adoption is now fully funded! Isn't God amazing in His provision for His children?!

Happy Dance Part 2!

My heart skips a beat when I open my mailbox to find correspondence from US immigration.

Today, it was good news! Our application for our daughter's immigration from India has been approved on the next level! Happy dance!

Now, we wait for an email asking for her visa application and photo. When that comes, you had better believe that immigration office will have what they need from us right away!

We are so thankful to have her visa photo on hand, sent from the orphanage via our adoption agency. Her hair is a little longer now! Hope she's ready for some ribbons and bows!

My parents came to visit and bought her a swing set. They worked hard to get that thing put together! It's all set up in the backyard now, and she even has her own patio chair!

Please pray that she will come home before Christmas!

"How Good and Pleasant..."

"How good and pleasant it is  when God’s people live together in unity!"     - Psalm 133:1
    My husband called me on Skype just as I was leaving for church this morning, so I was late entering the sanctuary for service. I found a seat in the back of the church, beside my friend and her two children. When the children had been dismissed for children's church, another friend came and sat on the other side of me. 
    So there we were, three Army wives, believers, whose husbands were not able to come to church with us today. Seeing the smiles of my friends brought tears of joy to my eyes. I thought to myself how thankful I am to be surrounded by friends, especially when my husband is away and my daughter is still in the orphanage.
    And then, the sermon was on community, how important it is to dive in and build relationships, how much we need each other. And so it was even harder to hold back thankful tears.
   Another friend invited me to lunch, and we were able to sit and talk together while her older children sat at a nearby table on their own. Fellowship is so sweet!
   Not a day goes by that I am not reminded of the loving, supportive, helpful community all around me.
   I am thankful to know that we will bringing our daughter home to such a caring community. 
   Praise God from Whom all blessings flow.